1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for biometrically authenticating the user of a portable token.
2. Description of the Related Art
Banking cards with a magnetic stripe are presently only protected by a four digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) code known to the bearer of the banking card. The fraud associated with theft, deception and forgery substantially increases every year and current estimates exceed 2%, although official figures are not made available. The Wall Street Journal reported a study by Gartner Inc. that claims that the fraud rate reached 1.8% for e-commerce alone in the United States in the last three years, totaling $1.6 billion. Card issuers typically protect card holders against fraud, although in some cases card holders must pay a small premium for the protection. Card issuers typically insure against their own losses. In France, the use of smart cards has significantly reduced (by a factor larger than 10) the potential for fraud. Usage of smart cards is extending throughout Europe; however, the United States has not yet decided to adopt the French smart card technology due to the cost (estimated at $12 billion) associated with the required changes in the infrastructure of the various Automatic Teller Machine (ATM), Point Of Sale (POS) networks, and other card-processing networks. Further, smart cards can have their own security weaknesses.